Nero

Nero is the main protagonist in the fourth installment of the Devil May Cry series. Nero is a Holy Knight in the Order of the Sword, a religious order that worships Sparda and fights to protect the world from demons. Kyrie is the childhood friend of Nero as well as a singer during the Order's ceremonies. He and Kyrie both fall in love some point prior to the beginning of the game. This love plays a major part during the events of Devil May Cry 4.

Physical Appearance
Nero wears a long, black-purple coat with The Order of the Sword's insignia sewn into both shoulders. He also wears a red zip-up hoodie/vest underneath this coat, a navy muscle-shirt beneath that, and a pair of black pants. Nero wears two rings on his normal hand: one on his index finger that has the emblem of The Order of the Sword on its face, and another on his ring finger which has a rose design on its face, identical to the designs on his belt buckle, coat clasp, and coat buttons. He has white hair and blue eyes, similar to Dante and Vergil. In early concept designs, Nero instead wore a double-breasted coat and a white overcoat similar to Credo's. Nero wears all the colors of Sparda.

Personality
In contrast with Dante's laid back and ladies man attitude, Nero is a sardonic and somewhat anti-social character and doesn't like to be messed with. He is also very rebellious, much like Dante and Sparda before him; for example, he wields guns, despite the Order's general prohibition against them. Nero's rebellious nature leads to the Order having him work alone on "special jobs." Nero actually prefers to act as a lone wolf. He is also very loyal to his friends, especially to Kyrie. Nero is very emotional and has been seen to both cry and become very angry multiple times in the events of Devil May Cry 4. When Nero first received the Devil Bringer, he covered it with an arm sling, both out of shame and to hide it from the Order. Despite this, Nero doesn't really believe in the Order's religion, and cares little for the legend of Sparda.

Nero taunts in a similar, sarcastic fashion to Dante; one taunt involves him bowing mockingly and asking, "Shall we dance?", while another has him aiming the Blue Rose at his enemies and saying "Bang!" instead of shooting.

Nero is one of the few characters in the Devil May Cry series to actually swear. He calls Agnus a "jackass", tells Sanctus to "go and blow himself", could say "I'm not interested in your bullshit" in the first battle with Sanctus and gives Dante the finger while saying "Come and get it [Yamato]" before being absorbed by The Savior.

Before Devil May Cry 4
Little about him is known, except that he was raised in the city of Fortuna as an orphan and taken in by Kyrie's and Credo's family since childhood, growing into young adulthood together. Nero got his name from a black blanket in which he was found. His actual origin still remains unknown but Sanctus makes multiple references to Nero being "a descendant with Sparda's blood."

Mentioned in an incident report, a number of demons appeared suddenly from the Mitis Forest and attacked Fortuna. Luckily, Nero was present at the scene and exterminated all of the demons. During this incident, Kyrie, who was accompanying Nero, was injured while Nero received a minor injury to his right shoulder. Nero's sword, the Red Queen, was damaged and sent for repair. Kyrie recovered completely, but Nero's shoulder never healed, and he continued to carry his arm in a sling after the incident.

Devil May Cry 4
On the day of the Festival of the Blade, Nero barely manages to make it to Kyrie's performance in time after dealing with a group of demons, with a man in red secretly watching him from the rooftops. He leaves her a gift and then prepares to leave, having grown tired of Sanctus's preaching. Just before he can, though, the mysterious man in red bursts in through the glass ceiling during a prayer and slays Sanctus, the leader of the Order.

Before the assassin (who is later revealed to be Dante) can confirm the kill, Credo, along with a battalion of knights confront him, but are completely outmatched. Kyrie, seeing that Dante is going to kill her brother, finally escapes Nero's hold on her and runs to them, but is knocked down in the process. When Nero sees the man in red looming over Kyrie, he kicks him in the face and orders Credo and Kyrie to go get help while he stalls Dante.

The two fight, and Nero is forced to reveal his Devil Bringer. With it, he is able to knock Dante back and impale him with his own sword on Sparda's statue. But Dante, who isn't just a mere mortal, frees himself and jumps down. Nero states that Dante isn't human, to which Dante then pulls Rebellion out and comments that they're the same, and points out the knights he had slain, who turned out to be demons. Confused, Nero watches as Dante flees the scene.

Shortly after, Kyrie returns Nero's sword, Red Queen, at Credo's request. Credo gives an order to Nero - to pursue the man in red, with witnesses seeing him heading to Fortuna Castle. Suddenly, all three feel the building shudder, and leave to discover the city's citizens being attacked by demons. While Kyrie and Credo lead the survivors back to headquarters, Nero fights off the remaining demons.

In order to pursue Dante, Nero must go through Fortuna, which has been totally overrun with demons. His pursuit of Dante leads him to discover the source of these demons: In a small village at the base of Lamina Peak, just outside the city, Nero finds the first Hell Gate and fights its guardian, Berial the Conqueror of the Fire Hell.

After defeating Berial, Nero makes his way through a supernatural blizzard to Fortuna Castle, where he meets Gloria, a new member of the Order whom he's never seen before. After some exposition, Nero and Gloria go their separate ways. When Nero enters Fortuna Castle, he finds it infested with demons and starts to investigate. He finds the second Hell Gate and fights Bael, a large toad-like demon whose specialty is ice.

While exploring the castle, Nero stumbles upon a secret underground laboratory of the Order, where he meets Agnus, the Order's Chief Alchemist. Agnus reveals that he created the Hell Gates and uses them to summon demons, which he needs for his experiments. Agnus also reveals that by using this power, Sanctus hopes to rule the world by using the Savior, the god-like being the Order constructed. Agnus has Nero nearly killed by his Angelos, but Nero dramatically unleashes his Devil Trigger, gaining a phantom-like appearance. In this form, Nero manages to repair Yamato, the broken sword of Dante's fallen brother, Vergil, which Agnus had kept in a containment field in his lab. Nero forces Agnus to reveal his Angelo form and retreat.

Nero heads towards The Order's headquarters, believing Credo knows more about what is going on. He crosses a bridge which leads into a cave concealed by a the Foris Falls and finds himself in the Mitis Forest. Here, Dante bumps into him, but their encounter is very brief. Dante apologizes snidely to Nero, stating that "it'll have to wait", and then jumps off a cliff. Nero fights countless demons on his way through the forest and eventually banishes Echidna the She-Viper, a dragon-like demon who treats the demons of the forest as her children. After that, Nero reaches the Headquarters without any other surprises.

At the entrance he is met by Credo, whereupon Nero asks who Dante is. Credo draws his blade and exclaims that Nero does not have the authority to demand answers from him. Nero reflexively uses his Devil Bringer to block an attack from Credo, exposing his secret. Realizing that Agnus, who brought news of Nero's demonic power to the Orders' commanders only moments earlier, was right, Credo transforms into his Angelo form and declares that Nero is under arrest. A fight ensues, after which Credo returns to his human form and Nero emerges victorious, but Kyrie, appearing seemingly from nowhere, screams out when she beholds what she interprets as Nero, with a demon arm, trying to kill Credo.

Nero tries to explain and calm Kyrie, but Agnus swoops in and captures her, revealing Sanctus's desire to use her to get to Nero. Credo is furious as Agnus flies away with Kyrie, so he asks Nero to put aside this fight and vows to get to the truth from Sanctus. While Credo flies off to see Sanctus, Nero pursues Agnus and Kyrie. Nero finds and fights Agnus in the Order's headquarters, but fails to kill him. Just as Nero is about to finish off Agnus, an army of Bianco Angelos, lead by none other than Sanctus himself, in the armor of an Alto Angelo swoops in to his aid. As Sanctus leaves with Kyrie, Nero jumps after her, but he is only able to grab her necklace, which he gave her as a gift back at the cathedral.

Nero turns around and continues to pursue Agnus, Sanctus, and Kyrie, however, he runs into Dante on his way out. Nero tries to ignore Dante, but Dante reveals that he wants Yamato back because it used to belong to his brother. Nero refuses, causing another fight between them. Although Nero is wielding Yamato, Dante is able to beat him, though he will not kill him. Although Dante wants his brother's sword back, he allows Nero to keep it for now, seeing how he needs it. Nero reveals his name to Dante and leaves.

Nero later finds Sanctus next to a giant statue resembling Sparda, which is the Savior. Sanctus asks Nero if he wishes to surrender himself and form the Savior's core together with Kyrie to which Nero refuses and attempts to rescue her, but fails and falls into Sanctus's trap. In the process, Sanctus takes the Yamato from Nero. Suddenly, Credo appears, enraged because Sanctus had used Kyrie, and attacks his former superior. Sanctus runs him through with Yamato, causing a mortal wound, and Credo falls off the Savior but is caught by Dante. He, together with Trish, witness as Nero is absorbed into the heart of the Savior. The Savior awakens and flies toward Fortuna. Credo asks Dante to honor one last request, to save both Kyrie and Nero, after which he dies.

Much later, Dante, having retrieved Yamato and destroyed all the Hell Gates, faces off against the Savior. After weakening the Savior's exterior, Dante thrusts Yamato into the core of the statue, awakening Nero and allowing him to escape the heart-like organ imprisoning him. After completing a number of trials within the Savior, Nero finally confronts Sanctus. Sanctus, having achieved even greater levels of power with the Sparda, asks why Nero betrayed the Order. Nero answers that Sanctus has done enough foul deeds to make Nero hate him. During their exchanges, Sanctus also scoffs at Nero for being held back by love.

Nero finally defeats Sanctus inside the Savior. In a final bid for victory, Sanctus implores Sparda for power, but his request remains unfulfilled. In a fit of rage, he asks why Sparda refuses to give him the power to kill Nero. The sword remains silent, but Nero explains to Sanctus that although Sparda was a demon, he did have a heart, one that could love another person. Lacking this, the sword will not grant his request for power. Nero saves Kyrie and kills Sanctus, and they escape the Savior.

Although it seems that all is finally over, the Savior suddenly transforms into the form of the False Savior, taking on Sanctus' appearance. Nero asks to fight in Dante's stead, and Dante acquiesces. Nero offers a quick prayer to God, during which he explains how he's come to terms with his demonic power, and destroys the False Savior and Sanctus once and for all. He meets up with Dante, with whom he exchanges thanks and friendship. Nero tries to return Yamato back to Dante, but he refuses to take it, saying it's his gift to Nero. Nero asks Dante if they'll meet again, but Dante just vaguely waves in answer. Kyrie joins Nero and expresses her desire to be with him, regardless of his demon power, thus showing her total acceptance of him. Nero returns the necklace to her and they nearly kiss, but they are interrupted by some remaining Scarecrows. Nero fights them off while Kyrie waits, agreeing to kiss him later.

Marvel vs. Capcom 3
Nero is mentioned in Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds. After Dante is defeated by Deadpool, Deadpool says "Next time, maybe you should let Nero do your fightin', skippy."

Weapons & Powers
Nero's primary weapons are his customized Durandal, the Red Queen, and Blue Rose, his custom revolver. He also extensively uses his demonic right arm, Devil Bringer, in battle.

After the events in the underground laboratory, Nero acquires Yamato and the ability to use Devil Trigger with it. His Devil Trigger is quite unusual in that it doesn't transform Nero himself: instead, a blue, spectral demon manifests behind him, wielding the Yamato; this demon somewhat resembles the Vergil's Devil Trigger because of the "sheath" on its left arm. Nero himself only acquires a blue aura, burning red eyes, and a deeper, echoing voice. The specter usually mimics Nero's movements, doing right hand versions of Nero's attacks. Nero also gains two new moves while in Devil Trigger, "Showdown" and "Maximum Bet", which are the only gameplay techniques involving Yamato. Nero also gains the ability to fire Summoned Swords while in Devil Trigger.

Nero appears to have some sort of unique connection to Yamato as he was the only one capable of repairing the sword completely, which Agnus was unable to do. Nero also appears to possess some innate skill with the blade, firing a technique similar to Judgment Cut from the moment he gets it in his hands; however, this may be a passive ability of Yamato itself. When not in use, the Yamato is assimilated into the Devil Bringer until Nero is ready to use it again.

Even before gaining Devil Trigger, Nero is shown to be extremely strong, able to block Berial's attack with his left hand. He also shares the demonic ability of being able to instantly heal wounds that would seem fatal to normal humans. This is most explicitly shown in Mission 6, when Nero is impaled by a Bianco Angelo and a Gladius. When the two weapons are removed, he is still able to stand, and after his Devil Trigger deactivates, the wound is healed completely.

Nero demonstrated ability to fight enemies on a standard level without his usual weapons or the Devil Bringer. One of his attacks has him do a drop kick on an enemy if he's running fast enough. Nero also demonstrated this in the Prologue of Mission 1 as he was able to take down a large number of Scarecrows without any of his weapons by his side (although he was using a Scarecrow's blade as a weapon during this fight).

Development
The Devil May Cry 4 Material Collection Artbook shows that there was a lot of development over Nero's character. It shows several concepts of him, including a few in white clothes similar to those worn by the rest of the Order, some which are very aristocratic in appearance, and some that are similar to Vergil. In most of them, Nero looks slimmer, and his eyes are a different color (predominantly yellow). The artbook also has several images depicting Nero with a full Devil Trigger that has wings, but it quickly changes to the spectre-like form seen in the released game.

In earlier publicity art, screenshots, and trailers for Devil May Cry 4, Nero's Devil Bringer originally had a golden glow before it was changed to blue; the reason for this is unknown.

Nero has some sort of connection with Sparda, due to the connection he has with the Yamato and his alleged place in the Sparda bloodline. While the exact details of this have yet to be established by Capcom, the Devil May Cry 4 novel contains "hints" that Nero is Vergil's son, and this claim has allegedly been confirmed at "Captivate 2009" by one of the Capcom employees who worked on the game's localization. However, even though the exact ages of Nero and Vergil are unknown, the approximations don't seem to add up.

Background
The word "Nero" is Italian for "Black", but Nero's name is a reference to the Emperor Nero of Rome. It is widely believed, even at his time, that he was the one who started the Great Fire of Rome, although some historians say otherwise. To deflect the blame, he targeted Christians, ordering some to be thrown to dogs, while others were crucified and burned.

According to Devil May Cry 4: Deadly Fortune novel, Nero was originally named after a sculptor called Rodan, who created Gates of Hell, a monumental sculptural group depicting scenes from Dante Alighieri's Inferno in high relief. However, because the crew preferred a two-syllable name, and because they were afraid "Rodan" might give too much of an "intellectual" impression, they decided to go for a different name. According to the novel, Morihashi Bingo accidentally came up with the name Nero, and it has nothing to do with Nelo Angelo.

Trivia

 * Nero's name is used in the same basis as Nelo Angelo's. Also, The demonic avatar that appears on Nero's shoulder when he activates Devil Trigger resembles Nelo Angelo, it swings its sword as Vergil does, and when Nero exits Devil Trigger, it places its sword back into its arm-sheath in the same manner as Vergil's Yamato Devil Trigger. Among the words Nero shouts, "Blast" and "Begone" are also words that Vergil shouts while fighting in Devil May Cry 3. Finally, in Japanese, "Nero" and "Nelo" are pronounced the same, as "l" and "r" use the same phoneme.
 * La Vita Nuova, the final scene's name with Nero and Kyrie, is named after a series of poems written by Dante Alighieri about his endless, admiring love for Beatrice.
 * In the entire Devil May Cry series, Nero is the only playable character who uses his sword in his left hand since he has the Devil Bringer for his right hand. Similar to this are the bosses Rudra and Berial as they also are left-handed with their swords. Despite Nero wielding the sword with his left hand, the demon that appears in his Devil Trigger wields Yamato with its right hand.
 * In the final battle against Sanctus, if you finish him off with the Devil Bringer, Nero will either shout "Checkmate" or "Jackpot". On the other hand, if you finish Sanctus off with the Red Queen, Nero will shout "Bingo".
 * Like Dante and Vergil, Nero has held all three of the swords used by Sparda. Rebellion is used to pin Dante to the statue of Sparda, Yamato is one of Nero's personal weapons by the end of the game and the Sparda sword is taken from Sanctus after he is defeated. Later Nero returned it to Dante.
 * According to the Devil May Cry 4 novel, Nero's Devil Bringer appeared during the Mitis Forest incident in which he use it to protect Kyrie, stating that "it was it's time".